Investigation into the automation of incremental forming processes

Abstract Incremental deformation is a low-cost manufacturing process which requires low-energy machines. Open die forging is a type of process in which a large variety of simple tools, plain and profiled, are employed to produce complex shapes by incremental deformation. In its traditional form, the process is carried out manually, thus requiring experience and intelligent manipulation of the workpiece material. The development of a new operating environment for open die forging will increase its competitiveness in the global market where the small-batch manufacturing mode has become an essential feature of the new production trends. This paper presents a new on-line computer controlled set-up in which the workpiece material is manipulated via a step-by-step computerized schedule. Accurate interaction between the workpiece orientation and the action provided by the tools is achieved by the use of step motors and a feedback loop. Also, an analytical approach to predict the mode of deformation after an incremental step effected by a semicircular tool has been presented and the results compared with those obtained experimentally.